Families and Concern Youth of Talensi addressing the Press at the Mortuary
The bodies of all 17 persons, who died in the latest mining accident at Gbane mining community in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, have been released to their families for burial.
Prior to the burial, the bereaved families and a group calling itself Concerned Youth of Talensi held a press conference to send a message to government and Minerals Commission, which regulates the mining industry.
The group’s spokesperson, Bismark Azumah, said members of the group and many residents of Gbane are concerned about the operations of Shaanxi Mining Limited in the area.
The group alleged that since the Shaanxi Mining Limited started operating in the area, a total of 61 people have died through its operations, adding that all the affected families have not been duly compensated.
“Our departed brothers are not illegal miners as put up there by the mining company, Shaanxi. We also want to state that the community is not aware of recommendations from any institution about previous accidents at Gbane. Our search also shows that the mining company is engaging some illegalities per the Mining Act. What do we see here, has the foreign company Shaanxi taken over? Mr. Azumah questioned.”
They also accused Shaanxi, which is providing mining services to two local mining companies- Nyenyeya and Pubotaaba- of not adhering to basic safety practices, thereby endangering the lives of local people who work for them.
“No vans were deployed to announce any impending blast. The Minerals Commission has also failed to engage the community in a public forum as stipulated in the mining regulations and workers of the company are not insured.”
The group asked the Deputy Attorney Minister, Joseph Kpemka to stay away from any investigations into the accident and subsequent deaths since he previously represented Shaanxi.
Meanwhile, PRO of Shaanxi Mining Limited, Maxwell Wooma, has disputed the number of deaths attributed to Shaanxi, saying, “the only deaths that relate to our operations are about six, that is what I can remember and they have duly been compensated according to the formula provided by the laws of Ghana.”
Touching on alleged illegalities, Mr. Wooma said, “We are operating in a regulated industry and all laws apply. We are very careful not to violate any of the laws governing the industry. Even with the blasting, we followed the laid-down procedures from procurement, storage to blasting.”
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga